Week 3 Limitless Life Bible Study: Delivered From Religion

This week's Bible Study touched a nerve for me because I have been delivered from religion into a relationship with Christ that is producing actual fruit.  I know how damaging religion can be and I was so thankful for Pastor Derwin's words.

The Church of Legalism

I grew up in the Church of Legalism.

The most important thing that one learns in the Church of Legalism is HOW to do church. It is imperative that one follows all of the rules about worship service that the Apostle Paul set up in the New Testament.  Anybody who doesn't follow these rules is going to Hell and that means everyone except for the Church of Legalism.

I always knew something wasn't right with their teachings because the results spoke for themselves.  I realized just how bad the teachings were when I got to college and I was in a New Testament class and the teacher asked the class what the Greatest command was.

I had not a clue. We then began to study the life of Christ and I realized I had NEVER learned about this person named Jesus.  I didn't know Him at all.

So began a 10 year process of letting go of my religious upbringing and moving forward into grace.  It hasn't been the easiest transition, but well worth it.

Leaving the Church of Legalism

In college I started attending a charismatic church and I loved it.  I loved the fact that the church was ALIVE.  I was used to boring and dry services where everything was about check marking all of the rules.  There was no room for the Holy Spirit to move because they had the order of service all planned and besides that they already had all of the answers so who needed the supernatural.

I also was moved by the kindness of the people who invited me to church.  They took me to Bible Study and Sunday worship, and worship we did.  I was used to singing the same songs every Sunday where you sang them because it was part of the rules.  No excitement except if it was a special program.

Leaving the church of Legalism was hard because some family members still attended.  They are taught that you're going to HELL because they are the ONLY RIGHT CHURCH THAT WAS FOUNDED IN 33AD.  Never mind the fact that they were really founded by a gentleman in the 19th century.  I never bought their tale of being founded in 33 AD because that made no sense and that made it even easier to leave.

Leaving the Church of Legalism was the best thing that I have ever done because I got a chance to meet Jesus and He has transformed my life.  

I even found a website for other people who had left and I was SHOCKED to read they had the exact same experiences I did.

Letting go of legalism

I didn't realize how deeply entrenched the legalism was until this year.  Since I rejected that teachings, I thought that was it, but I have come to realize that my constant need to try and fix myself is because that's what was preached in the pulpit and at home.  I have to fix myself to be good enough to earn God's love. But really though God is just waiting with his big black marker for me to mess up and send me to Hell.

I always found it curious that in the Church of Legalism that the worst thing one could do was worship with musical instruments or clap your hands during a song, but lying, stealing from older folks, having multiple affairs with congregants, and shady activities weren't frowned upon.

Anyway doing these Bible Studies and hearing the teachings from Shiloh Church have helped me realize that I cannot transform myself. It's an INNER work.

From Religion to Faith

Reading the chapter this week, I was nodding vigorously with what Pastor Derwin was saying.  I recognized so much of what I was taught and still have remnants of in my life.  I'd like to share a few examples and how God is doing an inner work in me.

Self Righteous and Superior vs. Humility

When one is entrenched in religion, you start comparing yourself to others and start acting like Pharisees.  For years I've thought: Well I'm not as bad as ___________.  Thank you God that I am not like that. 

 Religion teaches us to compare ourselves to others and be smug about how we are right and superior.  For years I listened in church as people criticized other believers and religious fellowships and went on and on about how they were the only ones who are right and that spirit rubbed off on me. 

Now I realize that MY righteousness is nothing but filthy rags before God.  I am just as pathetic as everyone else, but it is ONLY because of God's grace that I even stand a chance.  I've had to realize that I am not righteous on my own, but only through Christ.  Understanding this has made me much more merciful towards other people.  

Having all the answers vs Letting the Spirit do whatever He wants to do

This has been one of the most EXCITING things about making the transition to Christ centered grace. With religion, you already  have all the answers.  You only need God as a figurehead because you have it all figured out.  

There is also no need to attempt anything big or magnificent because we don't believe God for anything bigger than we can do on our own.  

When I first came to Christ and grace, I was ASTOUNDED by all the testimonies I was hearing.  In the Church of Legalism, you hardly ever heard about miracles and stories of God's deliverance because nobody believed anything like that could even happen.  

As I am growing in my walk with Christ, I am realizing that me trying to make sense of things makes no sense at all.  When I first started taking risks of faith and believing God was speaking into my life and then stuff started happening, I was scared to death.  LOL!  But then I got excited because having the Spirit in control is so much better than having all of the answers.  

I expect God to do SOMETHING and his SOMETHING is always exceedingly and abundantly more than I could ask or think.  Besides having all of the answers is boring.  God's answers are so much better.

Holding on to Shame  vs. Ability to Be Transparent and Vulnerable

I totally knew what Pastor Dewey was talking about with religious people having to hide their struggles.  As I have gotten older, I do have compassion for a lot of the people entrenched in legalism because they are not able to be transparent and vulnerable about their weaknesses and who they really are because in legalism if you aren't keeping the rules and keeping up appearances...HELL.

I never heard about grace growing up and didn't even know what it was until I was an adult.  

What really burns me up is that I saw so much unethical, sinful, and poor behavior going on, but people made excuses for it.  If the people who were struggling with the unethical, sinful, and poor behavior were able to be transparent and vulnerable then they could confess their sins to the body of Christ and be healed.  Instead, they were enabled to continue on and hurt themselves and more people.

I know the people who were engaged in the unethical, sinful, and poor behavior felt shame about who they really were and it's sad that they had nobody to say "Hey we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.  Let's pray for Christ to begin healing your soul.  He has grace for you.  He loves you and doesn't want you to wallow in the mire of your sins"

Enabling is not love.

I am learning that I do not have to feel shame for being imperfect.  All of us have struggles and Jesus knows about them.  I can tell people that I have envy, bitterness, and doubt in my heart very easily now because I know that Christ is healing and transforming me through this inner work.

Living in Defeat vs. Living in Victory and For the Glory of God

The verdict is in and Religion does NOT work.

Religious people live in defeat.  They will never be good enough no matter how good they think they are and every time a problem arises they have no faith to sustain them.  They just give up because they don't know the God that distributes the peace that surpasses all understanding.  

Living in defeat leads to depression because you've lost the battle.  Why even try?  People don't believe anything good can happen and are always waiting for the other shoe to drop.  I have had to struggle against this mindset and God is teaching me to stop dreading and waiting for bad stuff to happen.

Someone once told me that people will see the life I live before them and this was perhaps one of my biggest motivations for leaving the Church of Legalism.  I did not see victory in the lives lived before me.  I saw defeat, anger, misery, bitterness, and I knew that was not of God.  People were just hanging on until heaven and even that was in question because they weren't sure of their salvation.  They may break a rule and then they were going to Hell.

That is no way to live.

As I have gotten to know Christ, I understand that the purpose of my life is not to live for myself but to live for the Glory of God and glorify his name.  That is what produces a life of victory and not following rules or sitting on the pew getting attendance points every Sunday.

I am so thankful for my deliverance from religion into grace and I thank God every day for revealing himself to me.  I am now determined to bring as many people as possible with me along for this grace filled and Christ Centered Sacred Journey.

To God be the Glory